Military Arrests 8 Alleged CJNG Hitmen Involved In Abducting SEMAR Soldiers In Jalisco

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Eight CJNG members who were allegedly involved in the abduction of the two SEMAR soldiers were arrested in the greater metropolitan area of the city of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco. 

On the afternoon December 1, 2021, agents from the Federal Attorney General's Office (FGR) and soldiers from the Navy (SEMAR) were seen conducting a search in Zapopan, which is the western metropolitan area of Guadalajara city. 

The FGR agents and soldiers arrested Manuel "N", an alleged CJNG member, while he was aboard a vehicle driving on Playa Blanca Poniente street, between Severo Díaz and Moctezuma Avenue in the Moctezuma neighborhood.

The newspaper El Universal writes that Manuel “has been identified as one of the material authors of the kidnapping of two sailors last November, on the orders of Laisha Oseguera Gonzalez, daughter of Nemesio Oseguera González ‘El Mencho’.”

The arrest of Manuel, and presumably the subsequent interrogations with him, led to more searches later being conducted in the general area of the La Calma neighborhood in Zapopan.

In this second set of searches, a residence associated with a CJNG member was raided. Two kidnappers were arrested and one kidnapping victim was freed. A second residence associated with a CJNG member was raided but it resulted in no arrests and no property seizures. 

The next day, on December 2, 2021, the neighborhood of Jardines Alcalde, which falls within Guadalajara city limits, not Zapopan, was searched by authorities.

Video Source for Three Videos: El Blog de Los Guachos, no graphic content

On social media, locals uploaded videos of large groups of soldiers as well as helicopter gunships flying overhead. 

Soldiers cordoned off certain streets from pedestrian and vehicular traffic while they conducted raids. The military reportedly asked the residents of Jardines Alcalde to avoid leaving their homes if they lived within the cordoned off area, according to Latin.us.

These raids as well as military surveillance patrols reportedly lasted into the night time. 

Newspaper Informador reports that the raids within Jardines Alcalde resulted in five arrests of alleged CJNG members. All five arrests allegedly occurred at a residence located on Félix Palavicini street.

SEMAR personnel who continue to guard the residence on Félix Palavicini street where the five arrests occurred. 

It is interesting to note that in the last 3 years, FGR agents have conducted 15 seizures that were classified as “high-impact” within the greater Guadalajara metropolitan area. Of those 15 seizures, 10 of them occurred in Zapopan, which only encompasses the western greater metro area. 

This may suggest that Zapopan is more of a crime hot bed than any other region of the Guadalajara metro area, or it may simply suggest it is an easier location for federal authorities to plan/execute raids. 

Who is this Manuel “N”? So far almost nothing has been released in regards to the identity of Manuel “N”. No photos of the detainee have been released. 

On November 15, 2021, the FGR and the Army arrested Rosalinda González Valencia, who is the wife of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”, the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). 

A few hours after the arrest operation concluded but before the arrest was publicly announced, two SEMAR soldiers who were assigned as staff (one as a driver, another as a secretary) to a naval captain from the Eighth Naval Zone were abducted. Both were sitting aboard a white Jeep Wrangler that was parked in a Walmart parking lot, located on Aviación street in the city of Zapopan, Jalisco.  

While the pair were waiting for the Navy captain who was shopping inside the store, they were approached by armed subjects who arrived in multiple vehicles and kidnapped. The abduction of the soldiers was immediately suspected to be an act of retaliation against federal personnel in response to Rosalinda’s arrest. 

The mobile service provider of the Marines' cell phones was able to tell investigators that both cell phones belonging to the soldiers were turned off at 10:49 pm at night, local time.

Photo of the abandoned Jeep Wrangler. 

Later, the white 2017 Jeep Wrangler belonging to the missing Marines was located on the corner of Santa Anita and Agua Escondida streets in the El Campanario neighborhood in Zapopan. 

November 17, 2021 searches of Zapopan.

On the morning of November 17, 2021, several residences within the Virreyes and El Campanario neighborhood of Zapopan were raided by federal authorities. El Occidental later revealed that most of the residences that were raided had a registered owner with the last name “González Valencia”, implying family members of Rosalinda and Mencho owned the properties. So, is there evidence that Laisha or her boyfriend Christian Gutiérrez Ochoa were actually involved? 

In regards to Laisha Michelle Oseguera González, who is one of the daughters of Mencho and Rosalinda, there is no evidence that she was involved in the kidnapping that has been made publicly available, as of the writing of this story. 

There has been no military press release that names Laisha as someone with suspected involvement in the abduction. 

That being said, many reputable news publications have written that they personally spoke to military sources who state Laisha was involved.

Link to El País article

Link to Milenio article

Link to El Universal article

Laisha’s boyfriend is Christian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, the son of CJNG cartel boss José Luis Gutiérrez Valencia, alias “Don Chelo”. In recent years Don Chelo is most well known for images of him partying in luxury within Puente Grande prison, which stood as a stark reminder that jail time for cartel capos can be far from a punishment. 

The military sources who have spoken to news publications have made stronger claims about the involvement of Christian in the abduction, implying they have solid evidence that he was in the area of the Walmart during the window of time in which the soldiers were abducted.

Link to El Occidental article

Link to Milenio article

Link to UnoTV article

The certainty with which the military personnel tell these publications that Christian was in the area suggests they may have either surveillance video or cell phone geolocation evidence which places him in the area during the abduction time.

Sources: El Universal, Politico.mx, Quinto Poder, Latin.us, Informador, El Siglo de Torreon, Alberto Viveros Noticias

Evidence On Laisha and Christian Sources: El País, Milenio, El Universal, El Occidental, UnoTV